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John Skipper: New NBA Media Deal Signals Sports Rights Are ‘Most Valuable Content in the Universe’

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John Skipper: New NBA Media Deal Signals Sports Rights Are ‘Most Valuable Content in the Universe’

The NBA Board of Governors voted to ratify the new media rights deal with The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN, NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video worth a reported $76 billion over 11 years. Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns entities that have broadcast NBA games since 1984, has contractual provisions in its existing deal that grants it the ability to exercise a matching rights provision, the breadth of such remains ambiguous.

While reports have indicated that the company intends to try and match the Amazon deal, the company nor the league has currently announced an outcome in this regard. A spokesperson from TNT confirmed to Alex Sherman of CNBC that it had received the new media rights contracts and is currently reviewing the terms.

John Skipper was the president of ESPN when the company signed its last media rights deal with the NBA that started in the 2016-17 season worth a reported $1.4 billion per year. Under the new media rights deal, the company is expected to retain the NBA Finals on ABC, along with airing a conference final in every season but one. The network will also reportedly air fewer regular season games and add a Friday night national game window after the National Football League season concludes. Whether or not Warner Bros. Discovery is able to match depends on if it can be established that what it is offering equates to the Amazon agreement.

“It’s not a simple, ‘Oh, we’re matching,’” Skipper said on the latest edition of The Sporting Class. “They have to match some set of terms and conditions. I think it’s pretty clear now the NBA would prefer to have the partners they have agreed with.”

Amazon’s Prime Video reaches more than 200 million consumers per month, a platform that can provide the NBA with additional global exposure while also introducing a streaming-only functionality to its media rights plan. Skipper believes it is evident that the league wants the international delivery actualized through Amazon, along with a partnership with a technology company focused on innovation.

“I don’t think they anticipated the assertion that the matching right could cover the digital because they specifically want a digital partner,” Skipper said, “and I think that’s good business and a smart choice.”

Warner Bros. Discovery currently holds a $39 billion debt load and has lost two-thirds of its value since forming out of a merger in 2022. With a lowered market capitalization and diminished stock prices, co-host David Samson surmised that the question being asked is if it would make economic sense to match the deal. Although there has been concern about the future of the NBA on TNT broadcast property and the award-winning studio show Inside the NBA from both fans and network talent, reports have suggested that the NBA has moved on from the company.

“‘Do you want to be the one who lost the NBA?,’” Samson conveyed. “I’d rather be the one who lost the NBA than be the one who put my company in financially further dire straits and cause my company stock price to be relentlessly lower and lower, ‘but I kept Inside the NBA?’ That’s not a trade that I would make.”

Samson discerns that Amazon is trying to essentially own a night, evidenced by its Thursday Night Football package of NFL games and agreement to broadcast NBA games on its platform, including on Thursday nights after the NFL season finishes, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. If the media rights deal is closed as reported, the league would have a game on a national platform for seven nights per week upon the conclusion of the NFL schedule, something that has never happened before.

“It still signals that sports rights are the most valuable content in the universe, and it works for everybody,” Skipper said of the NBA media rights agreements. “It works for the traditional broadcaster, NBC. It works for the pay television behemoth, ESPN, which is moving to some pay TV/digital hybrid. And it works for the technology company that wants to get into the sports business.”

In response, Samson presumably cited the Los Angeles Dodgers local television negotiations and the decision from FOX Sports to walk away. The team ended up signing a 25-year, $8.35 billion contract with Time Warner Cable, a company that was folded into Charter Communications in 2016. Spectrum SportsNet LA, the regional sports network that televises Dodgers games, is jointly owned by Guggenheim Partners and Charter Communications. As it pertains to the NBA media rights deal, Samson conjectured that the reported $2.5 billion per year NBC is paying to bring the league back to its network for the first time since 2002 represents a premium.

“[It is] the equivalent of a city needing to pay more money to get a team back after they don’t build a stadium for an existing team and that team leaves. You always pay more,” Samson said. “It’s like paying more to get a new customer than to keep an existing customer. It’s a very simple rule of business, and what NBC is doing – they’re paying a hell of a lot to get back in the NBA game – and so I totally understand why Warner [Bros. Discovery] may not want to pay that amount of money, and from the NBA’s perspective, as long as there’s more bidders and packages, the chart goes up.”

Janet Jackson To Radio Host, ‘Please Stop Asking Me Questions’

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Janet Jackson To Radio Host, ‘Please Stop Asking Me Questions’

Ironically, during a radio interview, Janet Jackson expressed her dislike for doing just that.

Speaking on a recent episode of “Heart Evening With Dev Griffin” Jackson was asked what particular question she might be tired of fielding.

Jackson’s response was, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to be honest with you. Please stop asking me questions.”

Adding, “I’ve never thought I give a good interview. I really don’t like speaking, so I’d rather stay quiet and listen to other people talk, and that’s always been me.” Then, jokingly saying, “Are we finished?”

Jackson is currently on the North American leg of her “Together Again Tour.”

Bill O’Reilly: Debate With Jon Stewart ‘Best You’ll Ever See’

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Bill O’Reilly: Debate With Jon Stewart ‘Best You’ll Ever See’

Earlier this week, Bill O’Reilly appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for a spirited debate. But the conversation went deeper than what was televised, and O’Reilly was happy with the result.

While discussing the topic with 77 WABC morning show host Sid Rosenberg, O’Reilly gave credit to Stewart for even welcoming him to the program.

“I think that the credit here goes to Stewart because he invited me onto the program. He did it because he knows that when it’s me, it’s civil,” O’Reilly said before noting that the reason — in his view — that the reason Donald Trump was shot at a Pennsylvania rally last week was because civility has been lost in the American political discourse.

On the Comedy Central show, Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart only sparred for 15 minutes before the conversation was forced to conclude due to the nation of the TV shows commercial break schedule. But O’Reilly revealed he then sat down with Stewart for an episode of his podcast — The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart — for an hour-long conversation.

And in that conversation, O’Reilly had high praise for both Stewart and the discussion, adding that he believes that what television and radio coverage should look like today.

“I think that’s the best debate you will ever see in your life,” O’Reilly said. “It is a stunning piece of public discourse. I don’t want to get pinholy here. It’s still funny. There are very funny moments in the hour. But I take him on ideologically, and when you see it go back and forth, I think you’re really gonna — you’re not gonna fall asleep during this hour.”

Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly have a long history of televised debates, going back decades when O’Reilly was at Fox News. In less than 24 hours, the YouTube video featuring the two during the podcast episode has more than 150,000 views.

Report: Warner Bros. Discovery Intends to Match Amazon NBA Media Rights Package

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Report: Warner Bros. Discovery Intends to Match Amazon NBA Media Rights Package

Warner Bros. Discovery has acknowledged receipt of the framework of new media rights contracts between the National Basketball Association and The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN, NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video. The 11-year deal reportedly worth a collective $75.9 billion would nearly triple the value of the league’s current deal with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, but there is a chance that it does not close as currently constructed. Warner Bros. Discovery intends to utilize a matching rights provision in its existing NBA media rights contract to try and match a package slated for Amazon worth $1.8 billion per year, according to a new report from Alex Sherman of CNBC. The report also avers that the league has been working with its lawyers for several months preparing for potential litigation pertaining to the situation.

The NBA Board of Governors ratified the media rights deal in a meeting on Tuesday, and upon Warner Bros. Discovery receiving terms of the agreements, the five-day window in which it can decide whether or not to exercise the rights provision commenced. Entities owned by Warner Bros. Discovery have broadcast NBA games since 1984, and the potential end to that partnership could complicate the future of Inside the NBA as well. Studio analyst Charles Barkley, who has been on the NBA on TNT broadcast property for over two decades, stated that he will retire next season no matter the outcome of these negotiations. TNT Sports will remain the home of a conference finals, the NBA All-Star Game and exclusive national broadcasts through next season.

Warner Bros. Discovery is going to try and use its TNT linear network at the center of its bid while also offering to stream select games exclusively on Max, according to reporting from John Ourand of Puck News. Although the company’s OTT streaming platform has approximately 100 million subscribers per its last quarterly earnings report, Amazon’s Prime Video reaches over 200 million monthly viewers. Data from Nielsen Media Research demonstrates that both TNT and TBS reach 66 million homes as the pay-TV penetration rate continues to diminish year-over-year with more cord-cutting taking place.

Since the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, the company has lost more than two-thirds of its value and currently carries a $39 billion debt load. The company currently has a $20.3 billion market capitalization and could be looking to separate its streaming and studio businesses from linear networks to boost its stock price, a new report from the Financial Times divulged. Bank of America Financial states that 86% of the EBITDA within Warner Bros. Discovery is derived from the Networks group, the total of which was equivalent to $2.102 million for the three months ending on March 31, 2024 with $390 million in free cash flow. The company reports its second quarter financial earnings in early August for a quarter that takes NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs broadcasts into account.

Republican National Convention Sees Ratings Uptick After J.D. Vance Speech

BNM Staff
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Republican National Convention Sees Ratings Uptick After J.D. Vance Speech

After seeing a slight dip on its second day, the Republican National Convention saw a strong ratings gain on its third day on Wednesday after the introduction of J.D. Vance as the party’s Vice Presidential nominee.

Vance spoke in the 10-11:30 PM ET window during Wednesday’s primetime coverage, and according to Nielsen’s ratings, 17.9 million viewers tuned into coverage across ABC, CBS, NBC, Scripps News, CNN, FOX Business, Fox News, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, and PBS.

For the third consecutive day, Fox News led the ratings as it averaged 6.3 million viewers from 8-11 PM ET. MSNBC eclipsed 1 million viewers, while CNN finished just slightly behind with 998,000.

During the window of Vance’s speech, Fox News surged to 6.8 million watchers, with CNN growing to 1.2 million, and MSNBC staying relatively steady at 1 million.

On the network news side, NBC led coverage of Vance’s speech. Nearly 2.7 million tuned in, while ABC (1.9 million), and CBS (1.5 million) also saw strong viewership figures.

Bob Costas to Receive 2024 Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship

BSM Staff
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Bob Costas to Receive 2024 Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship

For generations of sports enthusiasts across the country, Bob Costas has been a familiar voice and presence. From the World Series to the Super Bowl, from the NBA Finals to the Kentucky Derby, and especially the Olympics, Costas has been an eloquent narrator with a keen sense of history and drama. He is considered one of the most acclaimed sports broadcasters of his time due to his exceptional skills, admirable character, and generous nature. As such, he is set to receive the 2024 Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship.

On November 23rd, at the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, Costas will be honored with the highest award for sportsmanship at this year’s Musial Awards. The award celebrates legendary sports figures who have embodied qualities such as class, dignity, generosity, integrity, and excellence throughout their careers. Past recipients include the likes of Bill Bradley, Albert Pujols, Wayne & Janet Gretzky, Hank Aaron, Bart Conner & Nadia Comaneci, Jim Thome, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Cal Ripken Jr., Arnold Palmer, and Joe Torre.

“This award is especially meaningful to me because of my great regard for Stan Musial, both as a player and a person, and because of my enduring connection to St. Louis,” said Costas in a statement.  “And of course, I am very appreciative of having my name mentioned alongside the extraordinary past recipients of the Musial Award.  When you put all those factors together, this is an honor I will always cherish.”

The Musial Family said, “Throughout his life and career, Bob has set a wonderful standard through his intellect, craftsmanship, and civility.  Our dad was always fond of Bob, so it was fitting that Bob delivered a beautiful and poignant eulogy at his funeral in 2013.  We marvel at Bob’s thoughtful approach as a broadcaster, his honorable focus on equity and objectivity, and his passion for the art of broadcasting that have been gifts to millions of fans who watched and listened over the past five decades.”

The Musial Awards will air throughout the country on CBS in December.  This is the sixth consecutive year the network will broadcast the event.  

Microsoft Outage Linked to CrowdStrike Update Hinders Media Outlets Worldwide

BNM Staff
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Microsoft Outage Linked to CrowdStrike Update Hinders Media Outlets Worldwide

A software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike has knocked millions of computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system offline Friday morning, with airlines, media outlets, banks, and hotels all noting disruptions.

TV news outlets in both the United States and the UK have admitted to difficulties due to the outages. Sky News in the United Kingdom was affected, while ESPN’s morning show Get Up joked about the issues, noting the program could not utilize its usual graphics package and no video playback was available at the conclusion of the morning show.

“It reminds us about our dependence on IT and software,” cybersecurity expert Olejnik told Wired.com. “When a system has several software systems maintained by various vendors, this is equivalent to placing trust on them. They may be a single point of failure—like here, when various firms feel the impact.”

George Kurtz, CrowdStrike President and CEO, took to social media to assure users the company is working on fixing issues that appear to be Microsoft specific.

“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” Kurtz wrote.

“We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

Kim Williams Named iHeartMedia Area President Alaska & Hawaii

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Kim Williams Named iHeartMedia Area President Alaska & Hawaii

iHeartMedia has named Kim Williams Area President of Alaska and Hawaii properties, effective October 1st. She takes over for Andy Lohman, who will retire.

Previously, Williams served as Market President for the Fairbanks, AK. Cluster.

Williams said of her promotion, “I am grateful to iHeart and thrilled for the opportunity to work with these incredible markets. Alaska and Hawaii are two of the most diverse, extreme, and beautiful states. I’m incredibly proud to learn from and contribute to our amazing teams in Honolulu, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.”

Williams began her career as an AE in Anchorage.

Dan Lankford, iHeartMedia Division President, added, “I have had the privilege of working with Kim over the past four years while she served as Market President for Fairbanks. I’m excited to see Kim’s passion and experience expand to all of the iHeartMedia stations across the entire Alaska and Hawaii area.”

101 ESPN Host Carey Davis Named Radio Analyst for Illinois Fighting Illini Football Broadcasts

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101 ESPN Host Carey Davis Named Radio Analyst for Illinois Fighting Illini Football Broadcasts

101 ESPN afternoon co-host Carey Davis has been named as one of two new radio analysts for the Illinois Fighting Illini football broadcasts.

Currently, Davis is co-host of The Fast Lane alongside Anthony Stalter and Jamie Rivers on the Hubbard Radio sports station.

A co-captain on the 2003 Fighting Illini squad, Davis rushed for more than 1,000 yards and had 750 receiving yards during his college days before embarking on an NFL career that included a Super Bowl win as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The St. Louis native is a 2003 graduate of the University of Illinois.

Joining Davis in the Illinois Fighting Illini radio booth will be Brian Barnhart, who enters his 23rd year as the radio play-by-play voice of Illinois football and men’s basketball. The duo will be joined by Kevin Mithcell, a 2007 graduate of the university who played safety and was a co-captain of the 2008 team that played in the Rose Bowl.

Steve Kelly and Michael Martin will pregame, halftime, and postgame duties for the radio network.

Davis and Mitchell will split broadcasts throughout the 2024 season. Carey Davis will be on the call for the season-opening contest against Eastern Illinois on Thursday, August 29th.

How Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC Covered Tucker Carlson Speaking at Republican National Convention

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How Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC Covered Tucker Carlson Speaking at Republican National Convention

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson took to the main stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday night. MSNBC and CNN took drastically different measures than his former cable news home during its coverage.

Carlson spoke for just under 12 minutes at the Milwaukee event and praised former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump for his handling of the assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally last week.

“He turned down the most obvious opportunity in politics to inflame the nation after being shot,” Carlson said. “In the moment, he did his best to bring the country together.” He later added that people questioning whether or not there is a God “are starting to wonder: maybe there’s something to this.”

However, MSNBC and CNN viewers did not hear those remarks from Tucker Carlson, as those networks did not air any portions of his speech from the lectern. MSNBC did briefly show Carlson — who worked both there and CNN before rising to heights at Fox News — on its wall of screens behind its assembled hosts.

Fox News, who famously fired Carlson on April 24th, 2023, did air his comments, marking the first time the popular but controversial host returned to its airwaves.

While the network aired Carlson’s comments, no mention of the former host was made on any Fox News social media accounts, and it appears any video clips of his speech have not been published to FoxNews.com or the network’s YouTube channel.

After Tucker Carlson finished speaking at the Republican National Convention Thursday evening, Jesse Watters — who took over the timeslot on Fox News that Carlson previously occupied — joked “That was Tucker Carlson. You may remember him from the eight o’clock hour here.”

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